Right Hand Drive Guys

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How much power does a mostly stock S15 SR20DET actually make in 2026?
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, Bobby and Aaron talk through Aaron’s first real dyno experience with his SR20-swapped Nissan—and what started as a simple baseline pull turns into a much bigger conversation about horsepower, reliability, and what actually makes a street car fun.
The car is running a mostly stock S15 SR20DET with basic bolt-ons, a mid-mount intercooler, exhaust, stock clutch fan, and even a catalytic converter. On stock boost, it lays down 189 horsepower on a Mustang dyno. With the boost turned up to roughly 14 psi, it wakes up to 223 horsepower and 234 lb-ft of torque.
Not huge numbers by internet standards—but that’s exactly the point.
The guys talk about why lower-horsepower cars can sometimes be more fun, more reliable, and better for actually developing driving skill than constantly chasing bigger dyno numbers. They also get into the hidden costs that come with more power: more fuel, more tires, more maintenance, more broken parts, and more time spent working on the car instead of driving it.
Aaron also breaks down what might come next for the SR20, including ECU options, squeezing more out of the factory S15 turbo, and whether chasing 300–330 horsepower makes more sense than tearing into an engine that currently works perfectly.
Bobby compares that mindset to his own R33 and R34 GT-R builds, and the guys discuss why they’re both becoming more interested in maximizing stock-ish setups rather than building cars that constantly live on the edge.
They also talk about Maine’s limited performance-shop scene, Aaron’s experience at Limp Mode Tuning in Portland, old-school dyno days, and why supporting knowledgeable local shops matters if enthusiasts want those resources to stick around.
Sometimes the best build isn’t the one with the biggest number.
Sometimes it’s the one you can actually drive.

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Nobody really prepares you for owning your first right-hand-drive car.
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, Bobby and Aaron break down the weird, funny, frustrating, and sometimes sketchy things you only learn after actually living with an RHD car in America.
From accidentally hitting the wipers instead of the turn signal and relearning how to position yourself in the lane, to dealing with drive-thrus, ATMs, toll booths, parallel parking, limited visibility, and passing on two-lane roads, the guys get into all the little things that feel totally normal now—but definitely didn’t at first.
They also talk about the less obvious side of ownership: short VINs, registration headaches, insurance problems, discontinued parts, expensive OEM pieces, and how much harder it has become to keep older JDM cars complete as parts supplies dry up.
The conversation gets into some of the sketchier stuff from the early days too, including questionable registrations, dealer plates, imported cars with little paperwork, and why the modern legal import process is a much better route than trying to recreate what people got away with years ago.
Then there’s the bigger question: after finally owning the cars you grew up idolizing, do they actually live up to the hype?
Bobby and Aaron talk honestly about Skyline ownership, rising values, the gap between performance on paper and emotional value, and why these cars only really make sense if you genuinely love them.
And if you own something like an R34 GT-R, there’s one more thing nobody warns you about—the attention. People will stop, stare, follow, wait around, take photos, and sometimes do completely insane things on the road just to get a better look.
If you already own a right-hand-drive car, you’ve probably dealt with most of this. If you’re thinking about buying your first one, consider this the stuff nobody puts in the sales ad.

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What starts with blowing up your own Subaru can apparently turn into building some of the cleanest Skylines in the country.
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, Bobby and Aaron sit down with Tommy Kentner of TK AutoWorks in Clarksville, Tennessee to talk about how he went from fixing his own blown-up 2005 STI to running a performance and restoration shop specializing in Subarus, Evos, Nissan GT-Rs, Skyline GT-Rs and Toyota Supras.
Tommy breaks down the progression from backyard Subaru builds to R35 GT-Rs, Skylines and full-scale restorations, including what it takes to build reliable 500–600 horsepower street cars versus the maintenance and headaches that come with chasing four-digit horsepower.
The guys also get into Skyline restoration, hidden rust, what buyers need to watch for when importing cars from Japan, TK AutoWorks’ approach to building cars around a customer’s long-term goals, and why Tommy and technician Adrian prefer keeping the operation small rather than sacrificing quality just to increase volume.
Tommy also shares the story behind his own Midnight Purple R33 GT-R, why Skylines are still the cars that excite him most when they come through the shop, and some of the wild builds TK AutoWorks has put together—including 900-horsepower R32s, TH400 conversions, full engine-bay restorations, titanium fabrication and high-end street builds.
The conversation eventually turns to GTR Festival, old-school car culture, modern takeovers, and why so many enthusiasts want to get back to the days when people could simply meet in a parking lot, admire each other's cars and enjoy the scene without everything turning into a spectacle.
From thirteen Subarus sitting in the backyard to a shop full of Skyline GT-Rs, Tommy's story is a great example of what happens when obsession, experience and attention to detail turn into a legitimate business.
If you’re into Skyline GT-Rs, high-end JDM builds, restoration work or just want to hear how a real performance shop gets built from the ground up, this is one you’ll want to hear.

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Can you still buy a genuinely cool JDM car for under $20,000 in 2026?
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, Bobby and Aaron go hunting through the current U.S. market to find ten right-hand-drive cars they’d actually consider buying for less than $20K—and the results show just how much the JDM market has changed.
The guys dig through everything from an Evo IV, R32 Skyline GTS-T, Toyota Altezza, JZX90 Mark II Tourer V, and 180SX to some more unusual choices like a Honda Orthia wagon, widebody Mitsubishi Pajero, Mazda Bongo camper, and even a Mitsubishi Minicab food truck.
Along the way, they compare today’s asking prices to what these same cars were selling for only a few years ago, talk about how difficult it has become to find cheap entry-level JDM cars, and debate whether paying $15K–$20K for vehicles that were once considered disposable in Japan actually makes sense.
They also get into the growing value of clean, mostly stock cars, why heavily modified builds can sometimes hurt resale value, and whether certain JDM cars are reaching the point where you can drive them for years and still sell them for more than you paid.
Are affordable JDM imports disappearing for good? Have prices finally leveled off? Or are we going to look back in another five years and wish we bought everything we could at today’s prices?
If you’ve got $20,000 burning a hole in your pocket and want something right-hand drive, this episode might either help you find your next car—or convince you that you should’ve bought one five years ago.

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When did JDM culture get so serious?
In this episode, Bobby and Aaron take a look back at what made the car scene of the ’90s and early 2000s feel so special—and how much things have changed since then. From magazines, MySpace, CarDomain, cheap project cars, driveway engine swaps, and open-header Hondas to Instagram, TikTok, influencers, six-figure builds, and the never-ending chase for clout, the guys break down how JDM culture went from something raw and experimental to something much more polished—and expensive.
They talk about the massive rise in prices of cars like the Skyline GT-R, Silvia S15, Civic Type R, 180SX and other Japanese icons, whether social media and YouTube helped create the current JDM bubble, and what happens when people start buying these cars because they're trendy rather than because they genuinely love them.
The conversation also gets into Japan's ability to hold onto old-school car culture longer than the U.S., the significance of the 25-year import rule, whether we've already lived through peak JDM import culture, and what happens when there aren't many legendary cars left waiting to become federally legal.
Most importantly, Bobby and Aaron make the case for getting back to what made this stuff fun in the first place: drive your cars, stop worrying about whether your build is impressive enough for the internet, put the phone down once in a while, and enjoy being part of a moment in automotive history that probably won't last forever.
If you remember when a $6,000 JDM Honda or a $7,500 180SX felt expensive, this one's going to hurt a little.